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Looking around the familiar lake spot, my frustration boiled over. "Damn it!"

I had already tried giving her all the vials I had, but it seemed to have no effect on her condition.

My mind was still reeling from the encounter with that mysterious girl. I couldn\'t believe I didn\'t notice that bastard lurking around!

[<Amael…the vial on the ground.>]

"Huh?" My eyes fell on a peculiar vial with a golden liquid inside.

[<That girl threw it when you were teleported away.>]

Recognition struck me as I realized it contained a concentrate of Golden Grasses. Without hesitation, I uncapped the vial and made Layla drink it.

"Cough!" Layla coughed, and miraculously, her stomach wound closed rapidly. Color returned to her face within seconds.

"This is even better than what I gave Milleia\'s mother…"

Why did that girl give it to me?

"E-Edward?" Layla\'s red eyes opened with pain.

I sat down next to her on the ground, letting out a sigh. "What the hell just happened?"

Layla, still trying to recover, asked, "What do you mean?"

"Why did you throw yourself in front of me to shield me?" My confusion was genuine.

Layla gazed at the sky, lost in thought. "And why did you come to save me? I hurt you, right?"

I remembered the time when I was bedridden at the age of four. "Remember back then when I was four?"

She nodded, recalling our first encounter. "You were always insulting me whenever I came near you. You even slapped me when I tried to drag you outside. That makes three slaps in total."

I scratched my cheek awkwardly, feeling the guilt of my unstable behavior from the past. "Yeah, I wasn\'t in a good place mentally."

"Why did you still come to my aid even after all that?" I asked, something lingering in my mind.

"Mom told you about me, and Aunty seemed worried about me. I-I don\'t know why, but you seemed really angry and scared at that time," she confessed.

I couldn\'t recall the specifics of that period, only the constant restlessness and pain. "I don\'t remember much from that time."

I was always on my bed, thrashing around. Then one day, I felt better.

"Let\'s just call it even now," I suggested, trying to ease the tension between us.

As Layla looked at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, a mixture of relief and confusion washed over her. 

Her fingers nervously played with the hem of her dress as she spoke, "I never thought someone would come back for me after everything I did. I... I don\'t understand why."

Still you were there at my lowest, you helped me befriending the others and I have met Mirada thanks to you. It\'s enough.

"Let\'s leave, before Your Highness calls his daddy," I said.

Layla giggled softly, but then winced, holding her stomach. "I-I can\'t move," she admitted.

Glancing down at her, I had a strange intuition that she might be exaggerating her condition. Nevertheless, I chose not to argue and carefully scooped her up in a princess carry. "You are hopeless," I said half-amused and half-concerned.

"Thanks," Layla murmured, wrapping her arms around my neck as she rested her head on my shoulders.

"I don\'t know what you\'re planning, but it won\'t work with me," I stated firmly.

With her upturned eyes and a smile, Layla looked almost innocent as she replied, "Am I really planning something, Edward?"

I couldn\'t help but avert my face. 

"Ah~" Layla suddenly let out a cry.

"What?!" I stopped, immediately concerned.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she stammered, "Ah...you just touched my thighs suddenly. It\'s nothing."

"It\'s not nothing! Stop wearing those too much high skirts, first," I retorted, feeling irritated by her antics.

"Okay..." Layla nodded meekly, then unexpectedly buried her face against my chest, playfully tickling me.

The whole situation felt incredibly weird. I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts as we made our way back to her room. The attention we attracted along the way didn\'t bother me as I was used to it and it won\'t last long.

Once inside her room, I gently laid her down on the bed. 

As I stood there, my eyes locked onto the framed picture hanging on Layla\'s wall. It drew me in, capturing a moment frozen in time.

In the center of the photo, I stood with a grin on my face, flanked by two of my closest friends. On my left, Miranda clung to my arm, a radiant smile illuminating her features. On my right, Layla playfully trolled me, forming rabbit ears with her fingers behind my head. It was a candid moment that perfectly captured the bond we shared.

Behind me, my mother stood with an expression of pride and love, while behind Miranda was Aunt Olivia, her warm and caring presence evident. And behind Layla stood Aunt Alyssa, exuding a mix of strength and gentleness.

As I gazed at the photograph, a mix of emotions washed over me. Shaking my head and leaving for my room. I needed some good sleep for tomorrow.

….

….

….

"Edward."

I turned around and saw a red-haired beauty there.

Kleah called me right in the morning and since I also wanted to talk to her, I came here.

"Senior." 

Kleah smiled and sat on the bench next to me.

"How are you, Senior?" I asked, concerned.

I didn\'t have time to properly talk to her after what happened inside the Dungeon.

"Fine…that\'s what I would like to say but no…" Kleah replied.

"Is that about what happened inside the Dungeon? I\'m sorry, Senior. It might be my fault that guy did that to you-" I started, guilt gnawing at me.

"No, Edward," Kleah interrupted, offering a soft smile. "You must have heard it already. Liart spread the news about my elven lineage throughout the Kingdom."

That vile bastard... His actions had caused such distress to Kleah, and it infuriated me. "Because you rejected him?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Kleah nodded bitterly. "Now everyone looks at me differently, and my family might come here to look for me and my elder sister."

"I don\'t care about you being a Half-Elf, Senior," I said firmly, hoping to reassure her.

Her smile returned, grateful for my support. "I know, you never cared about that, but people have different opinions about halves like me in this Kingdom, and even more so in Sancta Vedelia."

"Sancta Vedelia, huh..." Sancta Vedelia was a place of prestigious Elven Noble Houses, but it seemed even there, Kleah\'s lineage had been met with disdain.

Kleah continued, her voice tinged with sadness. "My father married my human mother secretly, and it didn\'t sit well at all in my House. My House despises Halves, and my sister and I were treated harshly there..." She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath to steady herself. "One day, some of my kin tried to assault me and my sister. We were just livestock to them. My sister and I managed to escape, and thanks to Aunt Lydia and others, we were presumed dead after our House was burned to ashes."

My heart ached for Kleah, and I struggled to find the right words. "I...am sorry," I finally managed to say, knowing that my words alone wouldn\'t erase her pain.

She looked up at the sky, her leaf-like eyes shimmering with emotions. "Sometimes I feel homesick and want to see my few friends there, but unfortunately, I can\'t. We\'ll never be welcomed there, Edward..."

"..."

"Edward... I\'m going to join Ante-Eden."

"Huh?" My eyes widened in surprise at Kleah\'s unexpected announcement.

Did I hear correctly?

"Thanks to Leon, I recovered some memories of a girl on Earth."

"K-Kleah?" My confusion deepened.

"My name was Gladys Caleb."

"What...?" Shocked, I stood up. "G-Gladys?"

The name struck a chord in my heart. Gladys Caleb was one of my close friends back on Earth, along with Emric and Ephera. We shared some unforgettable moments in Paris together.

"Edward... back then, you hid your face and asked me to call you Nyrel, right?" Kleah said, her eyes teary. "You are Nyrel Loyster?"

"G-Gladys?" I stammered.

Kleah burst into tears and embraced me. "I\'m so glad to see you... again."

Her revelation left me speechless, and all I could do was pat her back comfortingly.

"After Ephera died, you disappeared, and Emric left on his own... Yanis, Lucy, Marlene, and I searched everywhere, but we couldn\'t find you..."

"I-I..."

At that time, I had left for Tokyo...

"E-Ephera was also our friend! You left us without even telling us where you had gone..."

"Gladys... I didn\'t want to do that..."

"N-Nyr, I don\'t have much time... please listen to me. After you left, Emric killed his father and disappeared."

"What?!"

"Listen to me!" Kleah gripped my clothes, tears streaming down her face.

"L-Lucy went to look for him, but she was found dead after a week. I-I, Marlene, and Yanis tried to find them, but..." Horror overtook Kleah as she recalled something.

"H-Hey, Gladys?" I shook her with concern.

Kleah shook her head, her grip on my arms tightening. "N-Nyr, everything that...happened to us, even before your family\'s death, was planned by someone...!"

"...!"

"I don\'t know what they want, but they won\'t stop. They\'ll never leave us alone..." Kleah\'s voice trembled, haunted by painful memories. "N-Nyr... I-I..." Tears flowed endlessly from her eyes as she spoke. "They r-r*ped me! Leon tried to stop them, but... I was r*ped because of them, and... we are just pawns!"

"..."

"W-We are just pawns, and our attempts to fight back are just some sick entertainment for them!" She said, her voice filled with disgust.

While I couldn\'t fully grasp everything she was saying, I could see the overwhelming fear and despair in Gladys\'s eyes.

Kleah hugged me tightly once more. "P-Please... Nyr... don\'t try anything anymore. Just leave, go somewhere else. I-I don\'t want choose between Leon and you... he means everything to me... so please, go far away from here."

"G-Gladys... what are you saying?" I grabbed her arm, desperate to understand.

She wiped her tears and gave me a sad smile. "It was good while it lasted, Nyr, but it seems none of us deserved happiness..." She said walking away.

My whole body shivered after everything I heard from Gladys. It just came out of nowhere and I was having hard time to connect all the points.

"E-Ephera is here, Gladys!" I blurted out, and Kleah stopped in her tracks.

"I-I know... I don\'t know where, but they are all here. But we weren\'t brought here by a benevolent person, Nyr... If you see them again, please tell them," Gladys said, her smile tinged with sorrow. "Tell them that I miss them."